Midnighters 5, The Mission
by The One Whoo
Summary: -Read Mid. 4- Dess, Jonathan and Melissa are the only ones left. Rex and a the new girl, Aris, ditched out on them for some reason that no one really knows. The three remaining midnighters continue their mission. Read for more!
1. Prologue

Dess leaned against the doorway, too tired to sleep. Melissa was conked out on the hotel bed, and Jonathan on a couch in the corner.

Dess' thoughts spun in little circles, making her head hurt.

Was midnight really over, or was it still out there somewhere, like Jonathan thought?  
Why did Rex leave us? Was it something to do with the darkling taint?

Over the last few months, Dess and her friends had left their home town, searched for new midnighters, and actually found one. His name had been Deron.

Dess had thought he was ok, but not really her thing.

And then Melissa had gotten attacked by someone, who and why they still didn't know. Rex had come back with another new midnighter, Aris. And lastly, everyone had to fight the darkling king, which ended with both it's and Deron's deaths.

Dess felt depressed.

How come she had to suffer such horrible stuff at such a tender age? She was only a teen after all.

She sunk to the floor, and hugged her knees. She and her friends and fled the Minnesotan town as fast as they could. Well, after everyone had gotten out of the hospital, that was. It seemed kind of cruel not to tell Deron's parents, so Melissa did and everyone went to the funeral.

Dess closed her eyes, the black eye shadow making them look like pits.

Maybe she could think about this in the morning. _How about that, brain?_

Sleep came slowly, but eventually arrived.

The digital clock on the bed stand flipped slowly from number to number. But it abruptly stopped on four certain digits.

12:00


	2. Chapter 1

The midnight hour was silent. No darklings roamed the streets. The three midnighters slept, albeit not soundly.  
Dess woke, suddenly. A cold shiver went down her spine. Something was _not_ right. The midnight blue shone around her, and she shuddered.  
_The death of the darkling king…for what?_  
Melissa sat straight up on the couch, straining in her casts. She'd broken all the bones again in the battle with the king, but hadn't felt the pain until the adrenaline ran dry. It was so hard for her to get around these days, that Dess had to do all the driving.  
"Dess…do you hear that?" Melissa asked softly.  
Dess closed her eyes and concentrated. Nothing.  
"It's a humming noise. It's like nails on a chalkboard, Dess." Melissa clutched her ears. "Make it _stop_!"  
Dess rushed over to Melissa. She didn't know what to do. Obviously Melissa could hear this with her mindcaster abilities, an area Dess knew little about.  
"Block it out Melissa!" Dess grabbed one of Melissa's hands and pulled it away. "I'm here."  
All of Melissa's shouting woke Jonathan.  
"Dess, what's going on?!"  
Dess didn't reply. "Come on Melissa, block it out. You're tough! You can do it!"  
"Why does all this crap happen to Melissa?!" Jonathan yelled as he ran over as well.  
"SHUT UP!" Dess shouted at him. She turned back to Melissa. "Come on, we're here!" Dess had no idea what Melissa was seeing, with her eyes squeezed shut, or what she was hearing, but it had to be awful.  
Jonathan worriedly stood up and wrung his hands.  
_Tick._ The numbers on the clock moved to 12:01am.  
Melissa relaxed, her arms falling slack. Her eyes un-clenched and she fell into a deep sleep.  
"What was going on?" Jonathan whispered.  
Still holding one of Melissa hands, Dess said, "I..I don't know."

* * *

Rex and Aris stood next to what seemed to be the edge of the world, and spoke to a being that hovered almost 12 feet away into the abyss.  
Aris fell to her knees. "Master, the Darkling King is dead. The wild darklings are no more."  
Rex yanked a steel chain, and a whimpering darkling slid forward from behind him, writhing in pain. He looked at it with slitted eyes, disgusted.  
"Another pet for your collection, sir. They are now an endangered species."  
"You have done well," the being whispered, the sound reverberated around the entire area, almost bringing Rex to his knees as well. The darkling screamed.  
Rex kicked it, after regaining his balance.  
"There are only two things left that I need you to do," the being continued. "To continue your work with the machine…and to capture the midnighter called Melissa."  
In unison, Aris and Rex replied. "Yes, Lord Ragalus."

* * *

The next morning, all three of the remaining midnighter team members woke up way before sunrise.  
"I can't stand it," Jonathan said. "We're not going to be sleeping. Let's just go."  
Dess and Melissa agreed (for once) and they all packed up and left before sun up. They were on the road as the orangey globe finally cleared the horizon.  
"I had almost forgotten the sun…" Melissa murmured, closing her eyes ever so slightly.  
Jonathan resisted the urge to grab her hand, and tell her that everything was going to be alright. His broken heart beat slowly, as he thought of Jess. He quickly spoke, to get his mind and heart away from the pain of the past.  
"So what's the game plan, Dess?" he asked, as cheerily as he could muster.  
Dess glanced sideways. Melissa was sitting in the back, so as not to draw attention, which meant Jonathan was riding shotgun.  
"We continue our mission. The midnight hour is still out there, even though we defeated the king. Maybe…maybe he was just a test."  
"A test? Who are we proving ourselves to?" Jonathan looked exasperated. He was tired. He was also tired of being in the dark.  
"To God, maybe. I don't know. The death of the king was supposed to end midnight." Dess looked back at the road, and tried not to cry. She hardened herself, a trick she learned from Melissa.  
"Well, who told us that?" Jonathan asked darkly. Melissa, asleep now, stirred from the tone of his voice.  
"Rex," Dess growled.

* * *

The road ahead was black. The sky was dark blue. Nothing moved. There were no darklings. There were no voices.  
But there was a sound.  
She heard the noise from miles off. She headed toward the noise, the beacon staving off her insanity. She had heard the sound before, but it was always an undercurrent. Always just out of range of her perception. Like it was protected, or hidden. But now that protection was gone, and she could pinpoint the direction it was coming from.  
And Jess was going to find out what it was.

* * *

It was noon. Dess jumped as she saw the numbers change to 12:00. Jonathan and Melissa were resting by a fountain in a busy town square. Dess wanted so badly to lay low, but Jonathan assured her that being out in the open was the best disguise.  
It was summer break for the kids in town, but everyone knew they didn't belong anyway. As the warm mid-day sun beat down on her, Dess could feel the accusing glances and glares. She stood next to a newspaper stand, eating a sandwich.  
Jonathan and Melissa were in the shade, but Dess felt like working on her tan.  
Not.  
She was observing the people. It was something she liked to do.  
_That was the hundredth person to pass under than arch. That was the 13__th__ time the vendor shouted his slogan._ Dess shook her head. They had rested long enough. Time to go.  
She was about to head over to Melissa and Jonathan, when she felt someone's eyes on her back. It wasn't the normal feeling either. Dread coursed through Dess' veins like ice. She froze on the spot.  
After a minute, she shook it off and went to get her friends, even though she knew she was still being watched.  
Aris, from atop a building, smiled.


	3. Chapter 2

Jess crouched in the bushes, creeping slowly forward toward the epicenter of the sound. She couldn't see it, not yet, but soon she would be able to.  
She entered a clearing in the middle of the woods, and looked around. She had no idea where she was, and knew no one could get her…but she felt like there was someone there.  
"Hello?" she called. Jess couldn't see the source of the noise, but as she walked forward, it got louder and louder, to the point of being unbearable.  
A hand slithered around her neck, yanking her backwards and starting to choke her.  
Jess struggled, quickly running out of air.  
"Hello, Jess. Long-time, no see," a voice softly murmured.  
Jess' eyes went wide. "Re..x," she croaked.  
"Aris and I need you to do something for us," Rex smiled. "Do you agree to help?"  
Jess began to struggle again, even though her face was almost as blue as the midnight sun.  
Rex let her go, and she collapsed to the ground, gasping. She began to run away, but as soon as she passed through and invisible laser, she slammed into a wall of electricity, wattage zapping up and down her body until she fell to the ground again, smoking slightly.  
Rex grinned grimly. "I take that as a yes."  
Jess slumped, her face resting on the dirt.

* * *

Dess and Jonathan helped Melissa into the teal car.  
"How come we ran out of there so fast?" Jonathan asked, looking back at the town that was quickly disappearing behind them.  
Dess gripped the wheel. "Someone's following us."  
Jonathan turned back to face front ways and looked at Dess. "What?"  
"They were watching us the whole time we were in the square this morning. And now that I think about it, I've felt them observing us ever since Melissa got out of the hospital."  
Jonathan shivered. "Who are they?"  
"At midnight, we'll find out."

* * *

"Lord Ragalus, sir." Aris bowed deeply.  
"What is it, Aris?" the voice rumbled.  
"We have captured Jess. She will power the machine for us. It will only be a matter of days before it is time."  
"Any progress in capturing Melissa, and the other midnighters?"  
"Your hum beam is working well, sir. Melissa can hear nothing, and blames her pain for it. We will soon have them."  
Ragalus said nothing.  
Aris stepped away from the mirror, and the connection broke. She rubbed her hands, where old scars defaced her pale skin.  
"Oh, master. Soon you will feel pain, as I have. Soon…you will pay for what you did to me."

* * *

Dess parked the car in a deserted supermarket parking lot. The three midnighters said nothing as the black moon rose and the midnight hour began.  
"Do you hear them, Melissa? Are they midnighters too?"  
_Is it Rex?_ Jonathan thought.  
Melissa closed her eyes. After a minute she fell back into her seat. "I can't hear anything… I hurt too much."  
Dess got out of the car. "They were near when we stopped. Let's find them."  
Jonathan got out as well, but Melissa stayed behind. She didn't have the energy to get up.  
Dess and Jonathan spread out, looking all around the parking lot for anyone, anything. Jonathan bounced up into the air to survey the area around them, but came up with nothing.  
Dess walked into a back alley on high alert. She almost jumped as high as Jonathan when she heard something move.  
"Hello Dess."  
She spun around, and wasn't really surprised to find herself face to face with Aris.  
"What do you want?" Dess spat. She hoped that was loud enough for Jonathan to hear.  
Aris came out from the darkness, the dark moonlight illuminating her skin eerily.  
"To find my fellow midnighters, of course." She smiled. "I've missed you."  
_I don't remember her nearly this talkative. She's up to something. MELISSA!_  
Aris stalked slowly forward. "Rexie, your turn."  
Dess wasn't ready for the attack. Rex rammed into her from behind, slamming her to the ground. He was feral in his swings, smashing his fists into her face.  
Dess brought her knees up into his gut, throwing him for a loop, and managed to get a shot to his jaw.  
"JONATHAN!" She screamed.  
Jonathan was over into the alley in a hop, skip, and a jump. "Dess!" he shouted.  
He bore down on Rex, ignoring Aris for the moment, since she made no move to interfere. Jonathan careened into Rex, throwing him off of Dess, and pummeled him into a wall.  
Dess slowly got up, shaky from the blows she'd taken. She quickly recovered and wiped the blood off her chin with the back of her hand.  
"What do you want?!" she yelled at Aris.  
"You," the girl whispered.  
Dess couldn't take it any longer. She slugged the smug midnighter in the nose. Aris fell backwards, reeling from the unexpected attack. Blood tainted her pale face, gushing in a river towards her chin.  
Aris shook her head, and put a hand to her nose. She shook her head again and scooted backwards towards the alley wall, anywhere that was away from Dess.  
With fire in her eyes, Dess advanced. "We're not coming without a fight!"  
She aimed powerful kicks at Aris, who curled into a ball. "Rex!" Aris yelled.  
Jonathan and Rex were in a stalemate. They circled each other, waiting for an attack.  
Rex, with superhuman speed, dodged past Jonathan, and picked up Aris, continuing to run farther into the alley.  
Jonathan, after recovering from the shock of Rex's speed, dashed after them, Dess only a few feet in front of him.  
They reached a dead end and looked around, but there was no sign of the renegade midnighters.


	4. Chapter 3

No one could sleep. Jonathan's eyes felt like they'd pop right out of his head. He felt the fatigue- sure- but didn't care at this point.  
Melissa was fixing Dess up with the first aid kit that had been under the seat. Dess kept jerking away and growling nasty comments about Rex and his girl.

Melissa seemed unperturbed by the whole thing. She was very calm and coordinated as she listened to Jonathan and Dess' story. And she continued to be so.

"The pain is so bad now," she said to Jonathan during one of Dess' rants. "That I can't really feel anything else."

As soon as the midnight hour ended, Jonathan started the car up and they scrammed right out of the parking lot.

"What does sunrise look like?" Melissa muttered dreamily as she fell to sleep in the back.

Dess had quieted now, but you could tell that dark thoughts were still circling round in her head. Her face was a deep scowl and there was practically a rainstorm above her head.

Jonathan was thinking about Jess. He didn't know why. Usually he tried to suppress thoughts about her. He thought about the last time he saw her, saying goodbye.  
He blinked away unbidden tears. She could have never come with them. They'd only be able to travel, what, one hour a day? Yeah, that'd take forever.

He sniffed, and turned his head slightly, hoping Dess wouldn't notice.

"Jess?" Dess asked.

Jonathan sighed. "Yeah. I bet she's really lonely."

Dess shrugged. "She'll deal."  
Jonathan didn't answer.

* * *

Jess struggled against the bands, but every time she moved, it would shock her.

"UGHH!" she screamed as lightning coursed through her body.

"Hold still!" the boy, who couldn't have been more than 17, yelled at her.

Jess jerked again and electricity zapped again.

The boy shook his head and turned to the mirror behind him.

"Sir, if she keeps this up…Well, she might not last as it is," he reported.

"Don't worry. I will soon be there."

"Yes, Lord Ragalus."

* * *

Aris hissed like an animal as she looked down at the teal truck that moved inch by inch away from them.

"What does he want?" she muttered at Rex.

Rex looked up from the mirror. "Ragalus informs us that he's on his way. We must hurry." His black eyes slitted hungrily.

Aris grimaced. "Pulled us away from our job for that?"

"It means he's ready- and we're not," Rex stated, moving toward the edge of the roof.

Aris nodded. "Let's not waste any more time."

* * *

Contrary to Melissa's belief, the sun did rise into the sky the following morning. Dess blinked as the sunshine permeated the car. She slipped into dark shades.

Jonathan gripped the wheel as if his life depended on it. Sleep descended slowly and the car began to veer into the other lane…

Dess grabbed the wheel and yanked it back, as another car honked and whoosed by on the other side.

"Jonathan, pull over. We need to crash."

"What? No! No no crashing!" Jonathan shouted, half asleep.

Dess maneuvered the car from the passenger's seat, no small feat, be assured. After a few horn honks and close calls, she pulled into a cheap motel's parking lot.

"Move your butt, Jonathan," Dess muttered as she helped Melissa out of the car. "And we gotta get this chick some asprin or something."

Jonathan all but sleepwalked after Dess and Melissa.  
"Lock the car!" Dess shouted back at him.

Jonathan nodded slowly and turned around- slamming into the side of the truck.

Dess grumbled to herself and walked into the motel's main office.

"Me and my friend here," Dess said to the front desk woman. She supported Melissa with one hand, and slammed down 10 bucks on the desk.

"Downpayment," Dess said, grabbing a key off the wall.

The girl at the front desk tried to protest, but Dess gave her a glare and went back outside.

Jonathan was passed out by the car.

Dess handed the keys to Melissa, and went over to Jonathan.

Melissa, head pounding, made her way to the room number that was on the key, and let herself in. You could smell stale cigarette smoke and the bed was unmade. Melissa shrugged and fell into the ripped chair by the TV.

Dess finally found her way inside with Jonathan, who was talking in his sleep.

"Jess, no, don't go. Come on he's not that cool…"

Dess practically threw Jonathan onto the rug, where he slept on. Dess then jumped up onto the bed and went to sleep.

* * *

Aris and Rex sulked along, keeping to the shadows. There were not many to be found in the middle of the day, but they managed to stay out of sight. Aris looked back at Rex.

"Which way?"  
Rex stepped forward and sniffed at the air. "A little farther," he growled.

They slipped around a corner, and awkwardly made their way through the daylight towards the seedy motel.

"We cannot leave until they are all dead," Aris said quietly as they approached room 12.

Rex snickered. "This'll be fun."

* * *

Melissa jerked awake. Imediantly she was punished with pain. Something was wrong. She could feel it. It was on the edge of her mind…

"Dess," she whispered raspily. "Dess."

SZZZORRRkk… Dess was sprawled on the bed. Her foot hung off the edge and was in Jonathan's face.

"Dess!"

SNzoRK! "What what?!" Dess sprung up. "Where's the darkling?!"

As she sat up so quickly, her foot smacked Jonathan in the head.

"AGH!" He whacked her foot and turned, looking up, and glared at Dess.

"Well what is it?" Dess demanded.  
"Something's wrong." Melissa squinted. "I think Rex and Aris have caught up with us."

Jonathan was up immediately. "Alright, let's go. Let's get out of here. As much as I really want to bash Rex's face in…"

"We're in no shape," Dess said pointedly. "Come on, get Melissa and get out of here. I'll distract them."

Jonathan helped Melissa up. He turned his head to Dess. "No, we need you with us, man."

Dess shrugged. "I can't be in two places at once. I'll catch up."

Melissa jerked away from Jonathan. "Dess. No. Come on. We're wasting time." She began hobbling toward the door. When she got there, she had trouble trying to turn the knob, what with her casts.

Jonahan slid over. "Here," he said softly, opening the door for her. Melissa gave him a small, pained smile, and headed out.  
Dess growled. "Whatever. Move your butts."

* * *

Rex bounded into the parking lot. He followed the scent into the lobby, where he disposed of the clerk.  
Aris followed him in, a bit behind him. "Their car isn't here." She looked at the carnage at the desk momentarily, not letting any emotion show. "You didn't have to do that," she commented.

Rex sniffed. "I know."

Aris turned her head and squinted. "I'm not sure if I should pity you…or be afraid of you."

Rex stood up straight. "Be afraid. Be very afraid." He chuckled evilly.

Aris groaned. "Come on. We've got to go. Remember, our mission?"

Rex nodded. "All too well."

* * *

Dess wouldn't let Jonathan drive. She drove like a madwoman through traffic. Her road rage was so bad, Jonathan shrunk back in his seat, as far as possible away- almost through the window.

"BLEEP BLEEP!" Dess shouted, swerving around a minivan. She shook her fist at the driver, without taking her eyes off the road.

"So, where are we going?" Jonathan asked.

"Right now, we're trying to loose freakshow and his girlfriend," Dess said.

Melissa winced.

Jonathan looked at the dashboard. "One way or another though, there's gotta be a showdown."  
"Yeah, well, when there is, it'll be on my terms," Dess hissed.

"Our terms, you mean," Jonathan corrected.

Dess didn't say anything.

"What do they want?" Melissa asked. Jonathan craned his neck to look at her, which was probably not a smart thing to do, what with Dess' driving at the moment.

"Don't know," Jonathan replied. "Why would they run away- ditch us- then come back and attack us?"

Melissa shook her head slowly and then put it in her hands. "If only I could mindcast."

"If only I could freakin' get TO THIS EXIT!" Dess yelled, pulling across three lanes of traffic and up onto the exit ramp.

Jonathan's hair stood on end. "What the h*** Dess?! What's with you?"

"What's with you man?!" Dess responded without really thinking.

Melissa sighed and sat back. "We're all on edge. Let's just calm down. Right now we're on the run. Hopefully we'll be able to loose them and recharge somewhere."

"I don't think we should go around recruiting Middies right now either," Jonathan said. "Too stressful."

"Well duh," Melissa said. "However, if we do run across one, the least we could do is say 'hi, bye'."

Jonathan shrugged. "Right. I just think that we need to shift our focus at the moment."  
"My focus is shifted," Dess said suddenly. "Look at this town, man. There's so many 12s I could puke!"

Jonathan and Melissa looked out the windows.

"Twelve letters on that sign, twelve houses in a row. Twelve clouds in the sky, a sale for movies; 12.99$. It's 12:12pm right now. Good cosine, dude, this is even 12th street."

Jonathan laughed, but Melissa didn't.  
"What, there's no darklings- so what does it matter?" she asked softly.

"It's still an unlucky number," Dess growled. "The sooner we get out of this place, the happier I'll be."

Jonathan sunk into his seat. "Drive on, then. Drive on."


End file.
